Fine vine

WORDS Debbie Loots

Put the vine back into the divine Cape Town weather this weekend with a trip out to Babylonstoren and its new wine tasting room. While you’re there, pick up a copy of their freshly reprinted Babel cookbook.

After just a year, Babylonstoren’s beautiful cookbook, Babel, by Maranda Engelbrecht, has been republished. Everything is there again, plus it includes a brand-new wine chapter that documents the humble grape’s journey – from the vines on the Simonsberg slopes to the last drops that flow into the Babylonstoren bottles.

It also includes a friendly introduction to the farm’s winemaker, Charl Coetzee, who has produced six special Babylonstoren wines – chenin blanc, viognier, shiraz, Babel, mourvèdre rosé and the flagship chardonnay – all while staying as true to nature as possible.

The linear layout of the new cellar, designed by engineer Gerard de Villiers, heeds 19th-century building design, allowing visitors to follow the winemaking path easily.

Thirsty yet? Pop over to Babylonstoren’s newly launched tasting room, The Wine Shed, to sample them all. Here, in one of the farm’s oldest buildings, contemporary interiors are incorporated without compromising history, still tangible in the thick stonewalls.

And while we’re here, it’s worth mentioning that Babylonstoren was a recipient of an Award for Architecture presented by the Cape Institute for Architecture. Let’s drink to that!

babylonstoren.com

See other must-see features of Babylonstoren here.